For the first time in Hyderabad, Global Entrepreneurship Week was celebrated with incredible zest and fervor in Hyderabad. The occasion is marked by thousands of events and competitions around the world inspiring millions to engage in entrepreneurial activity while connecting them to potential collaborators, mentors, and even investors. In eight years, Global Entrepreneurship Week has expanded to 180 countries – building and strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world
Hyderabad, November, 18th, 2022 — National Incubation Center Hyderabad, a Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom and Ignite – funded facility created to serve as a catalyst for Sindh and Pakistan’s economic development celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week for the first time in Hyderabad. The sixth facility of its kind in Pakistan, the facility is being run by PTCL and LMKT.
The celebration kicked off on 14th November 2022 with Sameer Aftab and Mursal Furqan, the founders of NIC Hyderabad’s Cohort-1 startup IndusTech.io giving a workshop on what skillsets can help people develop successful careers in tech. The incredibly interesting session was followed by the Umair Jaliawala talking to a packed room about embracing all the unique differences that make people stand out. The day culminated in the 1st panel of the week, celebrating the Gen Global theme of inclusion.
Moderated by Natasha Uderani – Startup Engagement Manager at the National Incubation Center Hyderabad , the panel featured a group of people who have strived hard to make workplaces inclusive for all including Hira Saeed from CaterpillHERs, Arhum Ishtiaq from Connect Hear, Ayesha Amin from Baithak – Challenging Taboos, H S Umer Farooq from Boltay Huroof and Rushna Hussain Memon from Nestlé.
Day two of the event was again kicked off with workshop by the founder of Verbue – Mr.Vikram Kumar Devnani who explained what digital currencies are.
The panel for the day was focused on the theme of education and talked about how the ecosystem could be cultivated through education and incubation. Moderated by Mr. Azfar Hussain, Project Director NIC Hyderabad, the panel featured a diverse array of participants including Professor Dr. Arabella Bhutto, Director MUISTD, Ms. Sana Shah- Project Manager at the National Incubation Center Karachi, Muhammad Nabeel, Managing Director at EDVON Robotics, Syed Wajahat, Founder at the Learning Pitch, Dr. Arifa Bhutto, Focal Person at the Technology incubation Center UoS and Mr. Faisal Jamil Vice president LMKT (Pvt.) Ltd.
Day three saw Baithak Founder Ayesha Amin guiding participants on picking the right career for themselves and a panel on how startup-friendly policies can contribute to a thriving ecosystem. The panel was moderated by Mukesh Kumar, Provincial Chief – SMEDA, and included Faisal Wahab, CEO – The Learning Hut, Muhammad Asad Hasnain, CFO – AgriDunya Technologies; Aamir Shaikh, CEO – Gexton Group of Companies; Huma Jabeen, Consultant, Educator, and Trainer; Hassan Syed, Founder – Ideagist and Hallar Azad, CEO of Mixeal.
Day Four mixed things up a little by holding a Career Fair to help the youth of Hyderabad find jobs in MNCs and startups. Some of the fastest growing companies and startups in Hyderabad participated in the event including Meezan Bank, Soneri Bank, Verge System, Net2App, BaseCamp, Intrepreneur, Skillvention, Ideagist, Zetsol Technologies, Gexton, Sapphire etc. The day also saw an incredibly insightful workshop on “Digital Marketing and Freelancing 101” led by the founders of Salon Tracer – Pashmina Rahim and Samra Hafeez.
The panel on how startups ecosystems can change the future of work was moderated by the Country Head of WebHR – Zeeshan Abro and included panelists who have contributed significantly to the startup ecosystem including Aizaz Nayyer, Co-Founder – Linkstar, Syed Azhar, Co-Founder – Carvan, Khurram Kalimi CEO – Vinncorp, Huma Khan, founder – BookMySpot, Bushra Shah – Master Coach & Business Consultant, Anum Shakeel, Founder – The Marketects club.
The last day of the event included the continuation of the Career Fair and two inspiring workshops by Saquib Niaz and Anis H. Younus. The event was capped off by paying homage to Hyderabad’s Tech Success Stories, people who have made a name of for themselves in the tech world and have made Hyderabad proud. The panel was moderated by Rimsha Amin – Monitoring and Evaluation Executive, NIC Hyderabad and the panelists included Sennen Desouza from Investors Lounge, Saad Shah from UCAAZ, Tamijid Aijazi from BelaCorp, Wajahat Karim from Trustworks and Farooq Afzal from Pak-Turk Business Council.
Global Entrepreneurship Week was officially closed by our Guest of Honour – Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaimkhani – Parliamentary Secretary Maritime Affairs who talked about how such events can play an important role in creating a thriving ecosystem in the city and give youth opportunities to excel and grow.